The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-06-29
Explosion Of a Lard Tank on thu Premises Of
sGhicago Packing Company.
The Main Building Of the Establishment and
Its Contents q Total LDes.
The Air Laden With the Fumes From Five
Acre Oven Of Roasted Pork.
Million and n Quarter Licked Up by
the FIames-rhe Loss Fully Covered
by Insurance-Fireman Killed.
FIRE IN CHICAGO PACKING HOUSE.
Property Valued at million and q Quar-
ter Swept Away.

ter swept Away
CHICAGO, June ga million and
quarter dollars went up in smoke at the
Union Stock-yards to-day. Early this
morning one OF the employees of the Chi
cago Packing and Provision Company dis
covered fire IN the tankroom. In few
moments one of the tanks exploded, scat
tering burning lard over the adjacent build
ings, and dozen fires were soon competing
with each other in the destruction of the
immense establishment. Though the fire
was struck out this evening, fourteen and
quarter hours sitter it started, the
smoldering embers continued to laden the
air with the fumes of roast pork, and q
five.acre oven will remain on the premises
red hot for at least couple of days.
The Chicago PACKING and Provision Com
psny's works occupy about six acres of
ground, but the fire was kept within the
district bounded by Fortieth street, Center
| avenue, Forty-second street and the rail-
road tracks, block west of Center avenue.
| This territory contained four large build
| ings. The main building was 800 by AS
feet. In it a portion of the killing was
done, and the hanging, cutting, packing,
| curing and other work incidental to
Strengthening establishment. Except the
curing-in room, in which were 1000 900
pounds of short ribs, the main building
| and its contents are a total loss. The
| curing room, 100 by 100 feet and four stories
| high, lost its roof, but stone Prevails
saved its contents, a portion of them in q
| roasted condition. On the east side of the
main building was the warehouse, 120x400
feet, with tour stories and basement. The
| two upper floors at the south end were
used for killing purposes. In the ware
house were IL, coo barrels OF mess pork be.
| longing to Armour q Co. The build
| ing and much of the pork was wholly de.
| stroyed. About 5000 live hogs were in
the building when the fire started, but the
| company's employees succeeded in getting
the most of them out. Between 600 and
| 200 hogs were burned alive in the building.
Back of the main building was the fertil-
izJng factory, 100 feet square, and the en-
| CINE house, 50X65 feet. Both structures
were burned completely.
The fact that no wind was blowing when
the fire started was probably the only cir
cumstance that saved the entire stock
| to know the origin Of the fire. Several saw
the blaze simultaneously as ii went through
| the roof Of the tank-house. Though the
| fire department wss quickly at the scene,
the fire bad gained a volume that no
amount of water could reduce. Huge
sweeping circles of flames were whirling
upward with q roar IL at could be heard
blocks away. Twenty engines and every res
ervoir in the yards was soon brought into
! play. All efforts OF the fremen and hun
dreds Of stockyards employees were bent
toward keeping the contlsgration confined
to the works of the Chicago company. 1t
was at this juncture, while one little squad
of fremen were standingin a freight car
playing on the burning tank room, that the
tanks exploded. A heavy beam smashed
through the roof of the car, smashing Pipe
man Bakers ankle and knocking Lieuten
ant Elliott unconscious. Soon afterward
the walls of the warehouse tumbled to the
ground, disclosing heaps of mess pork.
z. d. Armour Immediately set 300 men
at work removing the meat. Charred bar
rels of it were rolled out and carried away.
The little army tramped over huge piles of
| loose pork and carried big chunks of ii ont
on the railroad track, where it was throws
| in heaps. Occasionally one of the work.
| men would drop a ten pound roast in a
| pool of water and splash his neighbors
with a mixture of grease and mud. Two
wheeled carts and big four wheeled trucks
were loaded from these heaps like garbage
wagons from the gutter.
Mr.. Armour, in q white hat and new
spring suit, ruefully watched the mess of
| pork and cinders being cleared away, while
his Manager Cudahy stood on an eleYation
| of mess pork and superintended the work
In the debris was carcssses of hogs roasted
| whole. The charred bodies shriveled into
| shapeless masses of cinders were mingled
1
| incinerated barrels. After the flames had
consumed most OF the woodwork of the
buildings the FIRE still held sway
! in the great mounds of burning
meat. A smoke, thick with
the fumes Of tons of roasting pork rolled
over the stock-pens and drove into the eyes
| of the firemen. Falling walls filled the air
with particles OF brick-dust, binding and
suffocating the men. They were at times
compelled to leave their hose and plunge
their beads into buckets OF water. Then
they sat in turns with handkerchiefs Dipped
in water on their swollen eyelids or bathed
their blistered cheeks with dirty water.
Perhsps the most exciting scene of the
day was presented when the men, who
were attempting to drive through the
covered run ways the live hogs in the upper
stories, were forced by the flames to desIst.
Below were scores of workmen rolling out
barrels of pork. Down on the crowd pail
NELL leaped scores of affrighted animals
that had jumped from the windows
or sprarg through the open
hatchways. The men who had
braved the flames fed from the falling hogs
and at a distance watched for glimpses OF
the squealing brutes that, crazed with
pain, were rushing madly about IN their
tall prison of fire. About 200 barrels of
pork were saved before the hogs com.
menced jumping.
| during the afternoon the nremen gave
their attention to saving the short ribs IN
the curiDg-room. While a number of the
men were inside the main building one OF
the division walls fell, seriously iDjuring
j. a. Scbaefer, Thomas Murphy, w. w.
White, Captain Nichols and Thomas Ell
lott.
Mr.. Armour valued his LOO barrels OF
pork at $4,000. He said that with his
salvage and insurance he would come out
even. He was unable to give the amount
of insurance. The pant of the Chicago
Packing and Provision Company was
valued at $500, 600, and the stock at $780,
600. a large portion of the stock in store
belonged to other parties and the loss will
be sustained by them. About half of the
Chicago Packing and Provision Company's
1900 employees will be thrown out of work.
Fireman Michael Murphy died tonight.
President Henry X. Botsford. of the
Packing and Provision Company, said he
did not know whether the company would
begin at once to rebuild, but thought il
would. All the losses IN the fire. he said
were fully covered by insurance, but Il
| would be impossible to give the details.
Besides Mr.. Botsfo-d, the other prominent
members of the company here are X. p.
ard @. i. Hutchinson, s. A. Kent and
Charles Singer.